Game



y 14, 2 D. s. WILLIAMS 1,712,781

GAME

Filed Feb. 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented May 14, 1929.

lll'l'E STATES lflh lcl PATENT OFFICE.

DAVIE; S. WILLIAMS, 9F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

GAME.

Application filed February 7, 1828. Serial No. 252,466.

thereby allowing; the game to be played practically in accord with standard rules and regulations of the real game.

An object of this invention is to provide an indoor football game in which the element of chance or lucl: is blended with, and inodilied by, theslcill of the players, as in the actual game.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved form of men with which an indoor football game may be played. 7

Another object is to provide an indoor football game embracing a combination of men of specific construction and activating means.

These, and other objects and results of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the elements embraced by my invention and defined in the appended claims. Other forms of indoor games simulating;- the outdoor game of football or rugby, have been invented hitherto, but none of these prior games have utilized men or game pieces of the particular con-- struction and mode of operation which I have invented. Neither have these prior game pieces or men been activated, put into play and caused to carry out the plays in the manner to be hereafter disclosed by me. Fun thermore, some of the prior games were so designed that physically stronger players had a great advantage over the weaker players, while the game herein disclosed nullifies or modifies such elements of physical. strength and introduces an element of skill which enhances the scope of, and pleasure derived from the game.

Reference will be made to the appended drawings, which show, merely for the purpose ot illustrative disclosure, a n'eferable embodiment of my invention, it being; cxncssly understood that various changes and lllOtllfiCfltlOllS may be made in practice Within the scope of the claims, without departing from my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of no me piece or man and activating; means, the man being in position for a forward pass.

l igurc 2 is a side elevation of another form of game piece or man, activating means and kicking wedge, the man being in position for a punt.

Figure 3 wedge.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the base portion of a man and a bottom view thereof.

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are side elevations of modified base portions of men and bottom views thereof. i

Figure 9 a perspective view of a miniature football field showing the game pieces arranged thereon in a formation which may be adopted when lIlClI-Oll is being made and illustrating the use of the kicking wedge shown in Figure paper, compositiomsuch as linoleum or the like bearing the lines ofa football liel d there on. The playing; field maybe of any desired size, but in proportion to the regulation field, and may be surrounded by a suitable strip of neutral territory which may be bordered with a fence or border of approzeh mately the size of thereon so to retain them on the table or held. The playing field may be made of soft material, if desired, such as the flannel side of certain forms of oilcloth. Instead of witha still or hard fence or border, the playing lield may be surrounded by a broad cloth, or other fabric tape, held in place on the edge of the playing; field by means of wire clips of suitable construction or other approved means. The use of a fabric or tapelilte border has certain advantages over a hard border in that when struck by the men or activating members the fabric border will give or yield slightly and thereby prevent rebound. The size of the field should be in pro )ortion to the men, or vice versa; for errample a field approximately sixteen inches by forty/eight inches readily accommodates game pieces or men about one and a half inches in height. A suitable space may be left between the goal lines and border or fence at the end of the field for purposes which will be apparent later.

In order to determine the yardage gained or lost, suitable markers or flags may be provided preferably of such form as to be adjustably positioned upon the fence or border surrounding the playing field. Two flags or markers connected by means of a cord or is a plan view of the kicking other member representing a five or ten yard playing field space may be used, such markers being illustrated in the strip of neutral territory surrounding the field in Figure 9.

Goalposts of suitable size and construction are provided at the-required points on or beyond the goal line. Such goal posts, made of paper, wire or light wood may be hingedly attached to the field and erected when needed, or they may be detachably attached in any suitable manner. 7

Each player or side is provided with two types of game pieces or men. (Hereafter reference to men will relate to game pieces, while the human player will be merely designated as player.) Each player has nine or ten men of substantially the type shown in Figure 1' and one or twomen of substantially the type shown in Figure 2. The total number of men on each side is eleven, as in actual football teams. Men of the type shown in Figure 2 are runners or ball-carriers, while the other men block, tackle, and otherwise enter into the play.

If desired, a certa-in number of men may be provided similar in a general way to the type shown in Fig. 1 with the exception that instead of having conical bottom surfaces, or axially placed projections upon the surface of their base portions, these men may have flat bases. These men with flat bases 'may be used for linemen, the base construction offering greaterresistance to impact and affording greater stability.

Both types of men are preferably substantially circular in horizontal section, are provided with a base 10, a body portion 11 and a head-like protuberance 12 and are suitably colored so'as to bear a resemblance, grotesque, comical or realistic, to the actual football players. Preferal'ily men on each side are distinguishably colored so as to identify' the teams. The bottom surface of the base 10 of men used as kickers, passers or ball carriers. is preferably equipped with a diametrically disposed ridge (Fig. 7) or a centrally disposedprotuberance. for example, 7

the entirebottom surface of the base section 10 may be in the form of a low cone 13 so v as to cause the men to assume a position at a small angle to the vertical.

The purpose of this construction will be later explained.

Runners or ball carriers of the type illus .trated in Figure 2 are provided with a cavcated at 17. The football 15 may be made of any suitable material such as cork. light wood,

composition, etc., and although having the general appearance and shape of a football, it may be desirable to form the football with a flat portion of its surface so as to prevent undue rolling thereof.

If desired, all men may be equipped with arn1s,.as, for example, the arms shown in Fig. 2 on the ball carrier, so as to add to their appearance and incidentally to prevent undue rolling when overthrown. These arms will furthermore help in blocking and give the effect of tackling. It is understood that the quality and worlnnauship of the men and their similitude to real players may vary over a large range and I am not to be limited to the simple forms or design of men shown in the drawings, except as certain features of their consl ruction enter into the game as a whole. For example, certain of the men are to have a substantially centrally placed protuberance on the bottom surhu-e of the base adapted to cause them to stand at an angle with the horizontal, but the men may be made of vood, ivory or composition. and be circular, rectangular, polygonal or elliptical in cross section throughout their length or only in certain parts. \Vhatever construction is used, a certain number of the men should be provided with conical, pyramidal or other irregular surface, such as that shown in Fig. 8. for example, adapted to cause men to assume a standing position at an angle with the horizontal. The protuberance upon the base surface may be centrally disposed or it may extend diametrically along a transverse plane taken vertically through the men, so as to cause them to assume angles with the horizontal in a forward or backward position. Men of the type shown .in Figures 1 and 2, or provided with bottoms of the type shown in Figures 4 and 7, are preferred.

In addition to a team of men each player is supplied with a number of activating disks or pucks such as, for example, the disks 18. These disks or pucks may be made of light wood. composition, a phenolic condensate or any other suitable material, and should be of suflicient height to be able to hit the lower portion of the body of the men. as shown in Figure 1.

A kicking wedge 19 is also provided. comprising a triangular body resting normally upon the hypothcnuse or longer side. The other or upper two sides are provided with a groove 20 adapted to partially receive and guide the ball when it is kicked from position in said groove. One of the grooves is preferably at a greater angle with the horizontal than the other so as to enable the players to execute high. short kicks or long punts.

The game may be played in fairly strict accordance with the rules of the actual outdoor game or the players may formulate rules of their own. A few plays will be here deseribedso as to illustrate the method of playing. Each player having been provided with say, ten men as in Fig. 1 and the ball carrier as in Fig. 2, and also provided with three or five activating disks, the players then position their men on the playing board or field asfor a kickoff. Or each player may be pro vided with, say, seven flat base lines men, two men of type illustrated in Fig. l, and two ball carriers of type illustrated in Fig. 2. vThe player to kick off places his ball carrier as indicated in Fig. 2 before the kicking wedge 19 with the ball resting on groove 20 and in contact with base 10 of the man. This is also shown in Figure 9. The men on the team to receive kickoff may be suitably disposed over their side of the playing board or field. If -desired, the receivers men may be placed on their sides so as to offer more resistance. The player ready to kick off then snaps or shoots a disk with his fingers from behind the goal line at the ball carrier back of the kicking wedge and the disk comes in contact with the base 10, knocking the base or feet of the man forward whereby the ball in the skid is kicked off. As soon as the ball is kicked fairly the receiving player may snap or shoot his disks to block the ball or the kickers men, both players shooting all of their disks in an effort to get their men closest to the ball, as after all of the disks have been snapped, the player whose man is touching or closest to the ball, gets the ball or the point where the succeeding play starts is thus determined. If, after the initial kickoff, the ball is touching one of the receivers men, he may elect to run back and this may be accomplished by halting the snapping of disks, placing the ball into the receivers ball carrier (but not moving the other men from their locations) and the player then driving his ball carrier into opponents territory with his disks, the other player snapping his disks at the ball carrier to stop him or at his own men to block the opponent. When all of the disks have been snapped they are retrieved, a new lineup formed and the game proceeds in the customary manner, a team having to make ten yards in four downs to retain the ball.

In line plays, the player whose team has the ball, places the ball in the cavity within the ball carrier and sets up six or seven men on the line in desirable position and others back of the line. The opposing player may then also arrange his men as desired to block the coming play. After both players announce their readiness, neither may touch. the men except through the medium. of disks snapped at them. The disks may be directed against the ball carrier to make him rush the line, or against another man to bounce against the runner or the skid or kicking wedge may be used to cause the runner to hurdle the line. Kicks may be tried on third or fourth down to gain yardage or a forward pass may be at tempted. In order to pass, theball is placed in front of a mans head as in Fig. 1 and a disk snapped at him. The men are so constructed that the disk 18 hits the man at the lower portion of the body 11, thereby knocking the ball forward as the man pivots upon his conical or pyramidal base. To make a more forcible pass another man may be caused to lie down in front of the passer and hold his feet in place.

It will be seen that practically all plays of the real game may be imitated with some degree of closeness and the game holds elements of exciting competition, increasing in interest with the skill and ingenuity of the players. Any one with an elementary knowledge of the real game can play. Naturally, rules may be made by special agreement and a number are here suggested. It' is a foul to snap a disk directly at a ball. It is a foul to snap a disk so hard as to knock any man, disk or wedge beyond the border surrounding the field. (This restrains over-muscular players from monopolizing the game.) Disks may be snapped from closer than the goal line under certain conditions and strong players may be required to snap their activating disks from a certain distance behind the goal line.

It will. be seen that an important feature of this invention resides in the game pieces or men used in playing the game. Certain of the men need have a base portion having a substantially centrally located protuberance on the bottom surface of such base. The body portion of the men is also preferably separated fromthe base by representation of legs of reduced cross sectional area, and said body portion should be of sufficient size (at least of the same cross sectional area of the base) so as to allow activating means to hit the body before hitting the base when the men are at an angle in the direction from which the disk is snapped.

I claim:

1. A game piece representing a football player, having a base and a substantially centrally disposed protuberance upon the bottom surface of said base.

2. A game piece representing a football player comprising a body portion, a base portion, a member of smaller cross section than said base portion connecting the same with the body portion, and a substantially centrally disposed protuberance upon the bottom surface of said base. i

3. A game piece representing a football player comprising a cylindrical body portion, a cylindrical base, amember of smaller cross section than said base connecting the same with the body portion, and an inclined bottom surface on said base.

4. A game piece representing a football player comprising a cylindrical body portion, a cavity in said body portion adapted to re ceive a representation of a football, armsattached to said body portion and adapted to cover said cavity, said body portion being connected to a base having an inclined bottom surface.

5; In an: indoor football game, a plurality of game pieces representing football players, said-game pieces being of substantially circular cross section and provided With a body portion, a base portion and a member of smaller cross section than said base or body portion connecting said. base and body portion, and an inclined surfaeeon the bottom of said base adapted to cause game pieces to assume positions at an angle to the vertical.

6. In an indoor football game, a plurality of game pieces representing football players, certain of said game pieces being of substantially clrcular cross section and provided with a body portion, abase portion and a meml'ker of smaller cross section than said base or bottom portion connecting said base and body portion, an inclined'surface on the bottom of said base and a plurality of separate activating members of sufficient thickness to come in contact with the lower section of the body portion of said game pieces.

7. In an'indoor football game, a representation of a football field, a plurality of game pieces representing football players, certain of said game pieces being provided with a body portion and a base having a bottom sur face adapted to cause game pieces to assume positions at an angle to the vertical and a pl urality of separate activating members adapted to contact with either the body portion or the base of said game pieces when propelled thereagainst.

8. In an indoor football game, a representation of a football field, a plurality of game pieces representing football players, said players being provided with a body portion and a base having a bottom surface adapted to cause game pieces to assume positions at an angle to the vertical, a cavity in the body portion of some of said game pieces adapted to receive a representation of a football, arms pivotally attached to the body portions and adapted to cover said cavity, a plurality of separate, activating members adapted to contact with either the body portion or the base of said game pieces and a kicking wedge.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, th is 31st day of January 1928.

DAVIS S. \VILLIAMS. 

